Account Setup & Editing

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The General Ledger accounts must be set up before processing can  begin.  When shipped, The Accountant has a standard Chart of  Accounts installed.  This can be modified, or replaced, to meet your  specific needs.

 

When the General Ledger Editor option is selected on the menu system, the full chart of accounts will be displayed in the lower part of the window in a browse box.  Specific work can be accomplished on each item by highlighting the account in the browse menu.  You will then be able to edit the information displayed on the upper portion of the window.  Be sure to select the Save button to save your work.

 

EMS30

 

Not all of  the fields, however, can be modified.  Some display data that is  processed, and derived, by the system, and should not be changed.  The following information must be considered when adding, or editing, accounts.

 

Add / Delete an account

You may select the Add button to create a new account in the General Ledger.  A blank record will be added.  Simply enter the data in the appropriate fields, and select the Save key to save it to the main file.

 

To delete an account, simply highlight the entry and select the Delete key.  It is very important that you use care in this option, and never delete an account that has data present for the current year.

 

The Account Number

Each account must have a unique number, which should be 5 characters  long.  These numbers are assigned by the accounting professional  responsible for establishing the G/L system.  The system will list  all information in numerical order in accordance with the assigned  accounts.  Following the number is a field for a single character.  This is the department code. The code should be the same as that assigned to  departments in the setup program.  Please check that chapter of the  manual for a discussion on that subject.  Departments are not  required to operate the general ledger.

 

*** SPECIAL NOTE ***  If departments are added to the system, the  computer will not add them into the totals, but will track their individual totals, and permit reports to be run by department.  This  is triggered automatically if the department function is turned on,  and accounts appear that have a department code.  Be sure to leave  the department field blank if you are not using this feature.

 

The system will order the accounts in alpha-numerical sequence, and  all reports will be listed accordingly.

 

Based on basic accounting  principles, the numbers are assigned to the five sections as  follows:

 

            10000 -19999      Assets

            20000 - 29999     Liabilities

            30000 - 39999     Equity

  40000 - 49999     Income

            50000 - 69999     Expenses

 

Within the range for each section, when setting the general ledger,  you will assign titles, debit and credit accounts, subtotals, and  section totals.

 

The Account Title

You may use any name, or title, for each account.  The name should  be significant to the accounting professional, and specific to its  purpose.  Typical titles will include Accounts Payable, Savings,  Parts Expense, etc.

 

Status

The status of each account number is assigned by the system operator  in accordance with the following codes:

 

H - Heading for five sections only

T - Title line, usually for a sub-section or category

B - Reset the subtotal calculator to 0.00 at this point

S - Subtotal at this point in the listing

G - Print a grand total at this point

D - Debit account

C - Credit account

 

Only the Debit and Credit accounts will have totals maintained.  All  other account (or line) numbers will signal a specific process.  When the system is told to print a subtotal, it will also reset that  calculator to 0.00.  When told to print a grand total, it will also  reset the subtotal and grand total calculators to 0.00.  If a subtotal is to be obtained for a group of accounts in the  middle of a long list, place a Begin subtotal marker prior to the  first included account.  This is accomplished by using a number just  before that of the first account.

 

 

Beginning Balance

The beginning balance reflects the opening value for this account at  the start of the fiscal year.  Values will be posted for many  accounts on the balance sheet, but will usually be 0.00 for profit  and loss items.

 

Budget

Many accounts may be measured against a projected budget set by the  system operator.  The comparisons are on a monthly basis.  The  operator enters the dollar amount in the budget field, and the  system calculates the percentage of the budget the current total  represents.  While useful, this information is optional.  Budget  amounts may be particularly useful with income and expenditure accounts.

 

Past Year

The total for each month, plus beginning and ending balances, for  the past year are displayed.  These were set when the previous year  was closed.  If this is the first year using this system, the  amounts are set at 0.00.

 

Totals

Totals for the current activity, budgeted amount, and past year are  displayed at the bottom of the screen.  These amounts are calculated  by the system whenever a period is closed, and cannot be modified.

 

Steps To Setting Up The G/L

 

There are two methods for setting up the General Ledger.

 

1)  The extended procedure.

 

The first step is to take five sheets  of paper, and label the top of each with a section name (Assets,

Liabilities, Equity, Income, Expense).

List all of the  accounts to be maintained within each section.  Be sure to include  all of the Executive's defaults.

Group all of the accounts in a meaningful order, and be sure that like accounts are included.

The five section titles are Headings.

Within the ledger there may  also be Titles for the different sections that may arbitrarily be  included.  Be sure to list all of the headings and titles in their  proper location.

After entering the headings, titles, and accounts, enter the Grand  Total line, using the same name as the heading.

Draw brackets to group items which are to be subtotaled.

At  the beginning of the bracket draw an arrow to indicate the subtotal  calculator is to be reset.

At the end of the bracket, enter a title  for the subtotal.

Label all of the entries, using H for headings, T for titles,  B for the markers at the beginning of a Subtotal group, S for the  subtotal lines, and G for the Grand Total.

Finally, start at the heading by entering the first number in the  section (ie. Assets = 10000).  Then go to the Grand Total, and enter  the last number in the section (ie. Assets = 19999).

Look at  major sections.  Space them at intervals of 1000.

Space the  individual accounts at intervals of 100.  Then you can have room to  enter additional accounts at a later time.

 

Once this process is completed, use the Edit option to add all of  the accounts.

 

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2)  The second, or abbreviated method is to modify the default General  Ledger that is shipped with The Auto Shop Writer 2004.  It may be installed from your CD.  Print out the Chart of Accounts, and pencil in any additional accounts you wish to add.  Then cross off any entries you would like to combine or delete.  Finally, use the editor to make the changes.